Samurai Forever
by Storm Hawk 21
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple reunion. However, nothing is ever simple if you're a Power Ranger. With a new threat looming on the horizon, the likes of which the Samurai have never seen before, can they manage to pull through? And can Jayden overcome a brand new challenge: feelings for a certain flute-playing, yellow samurai? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1: The Return of the Samurai

Hey people of fanfiction, Storm Hawk 21 here. It's my first foray into the world of fanfiction, and I know that the story's not really that good. Still, please feel free to let me know your thoughts, comments, or any suggestions you might have. I can't get better if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I'm not entirely sure whether or not to continue this fic. Could you guys and gals be a dear and let me know if I should continue this? Also, what do you guys think about the Samurai Sentai Shinkengers references?

Disclaimer: I ain't Saban so I don't own Power Rangers Samurai/Super Samurai. I'm also not Toei, so I also don't own Samurai Sentai Shinkengers. Darn. Oh well.

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Chapter 1: The Return of the Samurai

Emily sighed as the familiar sight of the Shiba House welcomed her after a long trip from the countryside. Everything felt so nostalgic after being away for so long. Granted, they had defeated Master Xandred only a scant year ago, but it's been ages since she's heard from any of her friends. Mia was busy studying at that culinary academy (and very hard at work if her past letters were anything to go by). Lauren was most likely enjoying being with her little brother. Jayden was probably doing the same. Kevin was training for the Olympics with the same intensity back when he was a samurai. Mike was, much to the team's surprise, attending college over at Reefside.

The ex-Yellow Samurai smiled as she pictured the former rangers' expressions when Mike announced the news. They had all gathered to congratulate him, but he never revealed why until the last minute. Kevin was especially hilarious. She always giggled whenever she remembered his astounded visage, but he was probably the proudest one out of all of them.

As for Mike and her, they decided that they were better off friends. When you get to know someone too much, it sort of feels weird if you start a relationship with them. Their brother-and-sister dynamic was what they were used to. Anything else just felt weird. They still kept in touch, a bit more than the others, though he never did say what he was studying. All he mentioned was some big project that he was working on.

And as for the last former Samurai Ranger…

"Emily! _¡hola niña!_"

Emily grinned as Antonio ran over to greet her. Today was when he would get back from his round the world fishing trip.

"Antonio! It's been so long!" Emily welcomed him back with a huge hug. He was the only person none of the other rangers had seen in a while, due to circumstance. "I kept all of your postcards! You've really traveled to a lot of different places, huh?"

"Yeah, but more importantly, I've fished in a lot of different places!" Antonio proclaimed proudly. He gestured to his fish cart, which was slightly different. "I've got a ton of new fish! I even got a bigger cart just because it wouldn't all fit in my old cart."

"You've got to tell me all about your travels later."

"Let's go inside first," he gestured towards the gate. "I haven't seen my best friend in ages! I wanna see what he's doing now that things are peaceful."

"Alright. I haven't seen Jayden in forever. He always seems to be busy."

"Well, he does have eighteen years of fun to catch up on." The two laughed as they entered. The Shiba House hadn't changed at all… but there was something off…

"Is that, music?" Emily wondered aloud. Antonio nodded. He recognized that sound anywhere. Somebody was rocking out here. The question was who. The only residents were Jayden and Jii, and there were no signs of other guests…

Antonio's eyes widened along with his grin. "So that's what he's been doing."

"Huh?"

He quickly shushed Emily and motioned for her to follow him silently. As they crept closer to the building, they started to hear the lyrics sung by a very familiar voice.

_Chan-Chan-Bara Chanbara!  
Chan-Bara-Bara Chanbara!  
Super Samurai Rangers  
Splendid!_

_Time keeps on flowing  
The past becomes now  
The spirits of Japan start awakening  
Exhibiting seriousness (chanbara, chanbara!)  
It is dangerous if you downplay it (chanbara, chanbara!)  
If you show an opening, there will be no tomorrow  
_  
_One Stroke, Imperial Report, authorized by Divine Providence!  
In a storm of applause, the main stars appear!_

Emily found herself nodding along to the music. Whoever was singing was pretty good, but she wanted to know who was singing. It seemed like Antonio knew, but when she tried to ask, he just shushed her and tried not to laugh._  
_  
_Cherry blossoms fall in a flash  
Now it's time to go, Samurai  
In order to protect those lives  
Cut, cut, dance, dance  
In the end, say "GO!"  
The power of the words will explode  
Let's bushido (let's bushido)  
Let's take this challenge (let's take this challenge)  
Super Samurai Rangers!  
Splendid!_

He really sounded familiar… The gears in Emily's head were spinning as she tried to connect the voice with somebody she knows. A figurative light bulb lit up when she realized who it was. She looked at Antonio, who only nodded before signaling for her to carry on.

_For a samurai_  
_There is no treason_  
_It is the pact he once made with his friends_  
_Always serious (chanbara, chanbara!)_  
_Sometimes regretful (chanbara, chanbara!)_  
_There's a feeling to not be beaten even during practice_

Both Antonio and Emily chuckled quietly. Yep, that described him perfectly.

_One Stroke, Imperial Report, authorized by Divine Providence!_  
_In the uproarious festival, the main stars appear!_

_Rising up in a flash_  
_Now it's time to go, Samurai_  
_We want to save this sinking world_  
_Cut, cut, dance, dance_  
_The Zords are in standby_  
_Five hearts come together as one_  
_Let's bushido (Let's bushido)_  
_Looks like you cut it (looks like you cut it)_  
_Super Samurai Rangers!_

They neared the porch. With a great deal of stealth, the duo continued to the dojo, where the music seemed to be originating from. Emily could hardly suppress the grin on her face. Antonio wasn't even trying.

_In order to make these great dreams shine on_  
_Today, too, the morning sun rises by the Mount Fuji_

_Chan-Chan-Bara Chanbara!_  
_Chan-Bara-Bara Chanbara!_  
_Put your love and courage into your sword_  
_Chan-Chan Bara, Samurai_  
_Chan-Bara-Bara, Cut it up_  
_The darkness that blocks your way_  
_Let's bushidou (let's bushidou)_  
_Let's take this challenge (let's take this challenge)_  
_Super Samurai Rangers_  
_Splendid!_

Jayden barely finished with the last chord when the sound of applause from behind startled him. On pure reflex, he spun around and held his flaming red semi-acoustic electric guitar in the same manner he would as his katana. Emily smiled held her hands up while Antonio merely flashed a huge grin. Confusion was prominent on Jayden's features before he smirked and lowered his guitar.

"Antonio! Emily!" He put down his "weapon" before greeting his friends warmly.

"_Amigo! ¿Cómo has estado?_" was all Antonio said before he tackled Jayden with a full-force best friend hug that nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Hey Jayden," Emily shyly waved at him, her last conversation with Mike coming to mind and causing her to blush. _Why did he have to say those things! Now I can't get those thoughts out of my head!_

Her sudden sense of awkwardness caused Antonio to release Jayden (allowing the latter to take a deep breath) and the two to look at her curiously.

"Emily? Are you alright?" Jayden stepped closer ('_too close!_' her mind screamed) and put a hand on her forehead, noting that her face was rather red. Did she have a fever? He immediately went into 'caring leader mode'. "Are you sick? Do you feel dizzy? Do you need to lie down? Can you walk? Here let me help." Not giving her any time to respond, Jayden swept Emily off her feet and carried her bridal-style over to the seats. She let out a sound that sounded like a cross between a yelp and a squeak, her face growing redder by the second. Antonio simply watched this scene unfold before a mischievous smirk graced his features.

"Hey Jayden, why don't you let her rest in your room? I bet your bed would be much comfier," he 'innocently' suggested. Jayden nodded and Emily shot him a glare. Or tried to. Her flustered expression sort of ruined the effect.

A short while later, after setting Emily down in his bed, Jayden sat at the counter while Antonio made some sushi in the kitchen.

"When we stopped in France, I learned how to make sushi from the owner of a golden shop called Gold Sushi," Antonio explained with fervent excitement as he set the plate in front of Jayden and plopped down next to him. "It was a golden opportunity! It just had to be destiny!"

"Right, Antonio," Jayden said before staring at the reader and winked. "Anyway, glad you're back buddy. Just right in time actually."

"Just right in time for what?" Emily asked as she sat down on the other side of Jayden.

"Emily! Are you alright now?" Jayden asked.

"Yeah, I was just tired earlier," she replied.

"Ri-ight," Antonio stretched out the word so it sounded like two syllables. Emily gave him a look that clearly told him to stop it. Antonio countered with an I-know-you-know-I-know-what-was-really-going-on-look. She silently groaned and replied with a silent "later" before turning back to Jayden, who was watching the exchange with an amused expression.

"So, you were saying?"

Jayden looked confused. "I thought you knew already. Didn't you get the letter in the mail?" She shook her head no. "Well, it's been almost exactly a year since Master Xandred's defeat. Jii thought that it would be nice of the Rangers could have a little reunion. Jii's on his way to Reefside to pick Mike up from college and Lauren's going to get Mia and Kevin." Jayden appeared to be confused. "I was going to pick you up, and it's great to see you, but what are you doing here if you didn't get the invitation?"

Emily suddenly found Antonio's sushi very interesting. Fortunately something interrupted her before she had to answer. Unfortunately, it was the Gap Sensor.

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**Please remember to Review! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: No Rest for the Weary

Hello people of fanfiction and beyond! Thanks so much for the great comments on the last chapter! Arigato-goizamasu! Please allow me to present the next chapter of "Samurai Forever".

Oh, and I would like to say that I would appreciate any corrections in the Spanish for Antonio. I don't really know the language that well, so any and all help is appreciated. And speaking of corrections, I forgot that Genta was in France instead of Japan. I fixed that little detail, but if you guys spot any spot any other small details like that, please let me know.

Not too many Shinkenger references this time. I'll find some way to incorparate them into the chapters later on. Maybe a guest appearance or two.

Disclaimer: Same as last time. I do not in any way own Power Rangers Samurai or Samurai Sentai Shinkengers, though I do love listening to the latter's theme. It's really catchy, even if I can only understand a few words.

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Chapter 2 – No Rest for the Weary

The three were stunned, to say the least. The Gap Sensor's continued blaring rang throughout the household. It was like the trio were trapped in a trance. And just like that, it was broken.

"_De ninguna manera_," muttered Antonio, the first to recover. Emily was in complete agreement, even if she had no idea what he just said. Although, at this point, he could've said that cats had stolen his pants and were using it to make a hot air balloon and she would've agreed.

"Should've known better than to assume that they wouldn't return," Jayden said, mostly to himself. He opened the city map. "Guys, whatever tripped the sensor is attacking the middle of town."

Emily nodded. "It looks like 'Samurai Forever' is more than just a saying." Both Jayden's and her expressions were grim. Antonio, sensing that the atmosphere of the room was rapidly deteriorating, tried his best to lighten it.

"Hey, chill _mi amigos_! It's probably just some Moogers that we haven't yet met. It should be a walk in the park after taking down Xandred! _No hay problema_!" Antonio cheerfully exclaimed. He ran out before running back in. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"Yeah," Jayden agreed. "Come on Em."

"Right!" The three rushed out of the Shiba house, past the gate, and into town. The buildings were naught but a blur as they passed them. Other people instinctively got out of the way of the three young adults that sped past. It's been a while since that happened, they thought.

[Scene Change]

In no time, the trio arrived at midtown only to find it completely devoid of, well, everything. No people. No Nighloks. Nothing. Even the air was absolutely still.

"It's like this place is frozen in time…" Emily noted.

"Close, but not quite." The arrival of a new voice automatically put all the Rangers on edge. From the shadows of one of the buildings emerged what appeared to be a woman swathed in a kimono and ice. "It is actually what you might call a temporal field coupled with a repelling spell. As long as it is up, everybody who tries to enter will automatically feel the urge to go in the other direction."

"Who are you? Are you related to the Nighloks?" Jayden was reaching for his Samuraizer. Something about this lady made him feel uneasy. It was an almost familiar kind of anxiety. Not a good memory either. A quick glance told him that his friends were following his example and readying themselves for a fight.

The frozen lady seemed to be unaware of that fact. "Nighloks? Ah, I guess that's what you called them. I suppose that calling them that is simpler. In that case, you may call me Yuki." She strolled towards the Rangers, leaving a patch of ice with every step. She stopped as soon as she was right in front of them. "Much better for talking, don't you think? Now, as for the other question, I am not with the Nighloks, as you call them. Rather, it is _they_ who are with _us_."

"And who is us?"

"We call ourselves Akuma. We are what your kind would identify as demons," Yuki said rather casually. "Those Nighloks were only a part of our forces. And Doukuko, oops… sorry, I meant _Xandred_ was merely another soldier. Granted, he was fairly powerful, but there are easily a dozen others who could match up to him."

The Rangers were utterly astounded. Their greatest foe, whom their ancestors have been fighting for centuries, was merely a foot soldier to these people?!

"That's… impossible," Emily managed to say.

"Well, he did go rogue some time back and became utterly fixated with taking over your world. So I guess I should thank you for taking care of him." Yuki continued. "It might've taken quite a few of our own to detain and eliminate him, especially since we don't know if he's gotten stronger after all these years."

"Enough with the meaningless chatter!" snapped Jayden. "Are you here for a fight?"

"My, my, so _violent_," Yuki said in a disapproving tone and made a tsk-tsk gesture. "I was only here to pass on the message, but I see that I have to take a few… _disciplinary_ measures. Such behavior is not befitting of a young lord, now is it?" From the folds of her kimono, she broth forth an icy naginata and leveled it at the Rangers.

"Samuraizers! Go Go Samurai!"

"Samurai Morpher! Gold Power!"

In a flash, three Samurai Rangers stood in place of the three young adults, weapons held at their sides and poised to strike.

"Red Samurai Ranger, Jayden! Ready!"

"Yellow Samurai Ranger, Emily! Ready!"

"Gold Samurai Ranger, Antonio! Ready!"

"Rangers Together, Samurai Forever!" The three cried in unison before settling in their respective postures. Yuki merely watched with a mild interest.

"Listen, are we gonna fight now, or are you going to continue with the posing?" She asked, sounding bored. Two Spin Swords and a Barracuda Blade pointed at her was the reply. "Ah, good answer." She leapt back as the Rangers charged. The battle was on.

Antonio, being the fastest, reached their freezing foe first. He utilized his speed to send out multiple attacks, only to have them avoided entirely. Yuki seemed to almost dance a deadly waltz as she advanced. He ducked to avoid the frosty blade sweeping towards him, but was caught by the blunt end of the weapon and was sent flying back. Jayden and Emily attacked in tandem, one would slash at the enemy before retreating and the other would follow up with another blow. Then one blocked the oncoming attack while the other struck back. Antonio recovered in no time and rushed back in to add a third sword into the fray.

They were working very well together, despite having not seen each other for the better part of a year. However, their teamwork was for naught. They couldn't seem to hit anything other than the naginata. Every attack was parried and deflected, and they barely managed to bring their weapons back up to block the counterattack that followed. The pattern continued for a while and despite it being three-on-one, Yuki was keeping cool while the trio was starting to show signs of exhaustion.

A mighty swing repelled the Rangers back a good distance, and Yuki yawned as they got back up. "Is this all you've got Rangers? It seems that your reputations are rather, what's the word, _overrated_," she taunted.

"Spin Swords! Double Slash!"

"Barracuda Blade! Barracuda Bite!"

The multitude of slashes followed by two Symbol Power charged attacks were deflected without so much as a second glance, and all they resulted in was a large cloud of dust that obscured the entire field. Yuki coughed and rubbed the dust out of her eyes. She had lost sight of the Rangers. Had they fled?

"Fire Smasher!"

"Earth Slicer!"

"Barracuda Blade!"

Apparently not. The three had surrounded her and were in the process of bringing down their respective weapons on her at full force. She fell to one knee and held the naginata above her, catching all three attacks. The Fire Smasher emitted a searing heat that even her ice couldn't endure. It melted clean through, allowing their attacks to connect for the first time in the entire fight.

What happened next could only be described as an anguished howl by Yuki. The Rangers had stepped back, feeling suddenly feeling the temperature drop several degrees despite the protection offered by their suits. Yuki slowly rose, ice and various frozen objects whirled around her. Her glare was absolute zero cold, causing the Rangers to shiver. Steam seemed to pour out from her body via a wound, but it was quickly enveloped by ice.

"YOU TORE MY KIMONO!" Yuki screeched, losing the cool air she had earlier in the fight. "THAT'S IT! NO MORE HOLDING BACK!" Ice and frozen wind swirled around her hands, and in a few moments, she was holding a beautiful katana with a snowflake pattern carved on the blade and on the hilt.

In a single sweep, Antonio and Emily were frozen in place, literally. Jayden had just barely managed to avoid being frozen with his Fire Symbol Power, though he was shivering uncontrollably. "Emily! Antonio!" He cried out, seeing his two friends reduced to ice sculptures. He took out the Black Box. "Super Samurai Mode! Super Red Samurai Ranger!" As Jayden felt his strengthened Symbol Power restore feeling in his extremities, he glanced at the sword Emily dropped before looking at Emily herself. "I'll be borrowing this again," he told her. Somehow, he knew she could hear him and would've nodded if she could.

"You might be able to resist being frozen because of your Mojikara, young lord, but you would do well to remember that even fire can be frozen," Yuki all but growled at him. Jayden just stared at her with a combination of rage and slight confusion. Mojikara? And there was that "young lord" again? Just what did those mean?

Jayden shook his head. No time to think about that now. He settled into what was dubbed as his 'Dual Blade' stance. Yuki got into her own stance. The next exchange would decide the outcome of this fight, both sides knew it. Their elements were the exact opposite of one another and a single blow from their current power would be enough to incapacitate the other. The first one to land a clean hit would win, simple as that.

Silence. Each side tensed and silently counted down. Now! Both sides charged and…

…

…

…

…

…

Yuki panted as she glared at the prone and frozen form on the ground. Even though he was completely entrapped within a layer of ice, Jayden was slowly but surely thawing out at a significantly faster rate than his two friends. It wouldn't be long before he could move again, she knew.

She wheezed slightly. She hadn't used that much power in a long time. They was apparently a bit more resilient than she had thought.

"Listen up Red," Yuki addressed him. "I know you and your friends can hear me. Here's the message: Xandred was only the beginning. You have garnered the attention of the organization Akuma, so you had better be prepared. This is your only warning." Yuki began to walk away, but stopped before turning back. "And here's a little warning from me: Next time – and there will be a next time, I assure you – I won't be so merciful as to hold back most of my true strength."

She swished around, and a miniature blizzard erupted around her. In a flurry of snow and ice, she was gone.

If Jayden could move, he would've slammed his head against the concrete. Darn it! He was just so frustrated.

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**Review please! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Moment's Reprieve

Yo people of fanfiction and beyond. Storm Hawk 21 here with the latest chapter of Samurai Forever. I've got quite a bit planned for these next couple of chapters, so remember to stay tuned. Not that much action this time, though I guarantee that the next chapter is going to be action packed! Well, as packed as I can write, anyways.

By the way, does anybody have a list of the Shinkenger's _Shinkenmaru_ attacks?

I love cameos. I try to slip in as much as I can from time to time. Just letting you know in advance to look forward to more cameos not just by Shinkenger, but a few other Super Sentai and some by Power Rangers. Speaking of which, I might be publishing a new story soon, this time belonging to the Super Sentai category. I gotta admit that I was a little disappointed about how fewer the number of fics was for that category. That's why I wanted to post something. Well, it's just an idea anyways. I'm not entirely sure if I could develop it into a story.

Disclaimer:I don't own Power Rangers or Super Sentai. I thought that was pretty obvious. Why do I need to keep repeating myself?

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Chapter 3 – A Moment's Reprieve

Jayden paced around the training area at the Shiba house while Emily and Antonio were trying to warm themselves by the fire he had conjured. Their suits had protected them for the most part, and it took only a matter of seconds for Jayden to defrost them with his Symbol Power after he had thawed out himself. However, the suits hadn't prevented them from feeling the cold, and the two were shivering uncontrollably as they tried to restore their proper body temperature.

While Jayden was glad that his friends were alright, he couldn't seem to calm down. This new threat, Akuma, was worrisome. If Xandred was a mere pawn… Jayden couldn't repress the shudder at the thought of an army of Xandred-level monsters.

Emily caught the action and beckoned him to sit down next to her. "Are you sure you aren't cold, Jayden?" she asked. Jayden shook his head, but he did take a seat.

"I told you Em, my suit and Symbol Power protected me," he replied. He was about to say more, but something else caught his attention. The way the firelight had caught her hair and made it glow. How her bottom lip was jutting out and trembling ever so slightly. Her eyes were still full of that innocence she had when they had first met, but now there was also a sharpness no doubt tempered by all of their experiences. '_Had Emily always looked so…?_'

"Jayden?" Emily was feeling rather warm, and not because of the roaring bonfire. She fidgeted nervously under his intense gaze, suddenly thankful for the flames to camouflage her visage, which was slowly starting to match his uniform. And then, just like that, Jayden seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was apparently in.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought." Well, he wasn't lying. He just didn't admit that he was thinking about _her_. '_What…? No, I can't afford to spend too much time dwelling on… whatever that was now. I'll deal with it later._'

Antonio, who was silent throughout the short exchange, almost groaned. He had known Jayden for a long time, and he knew what he was thinking. "Duty before everything," or something along those lines. Emily's genuinely confused and Jayden has no idea. Well, he's up.

"Hey Jay, any idea when the others are coming back?"

"Huh?" Wow, Jayden must've really been out of it. "Oh, right. Jii left two days ago, so he's probably just arriving in Reefside today. Lauren just called before you guys got here. She's already in Hawaii and on her way to find Mia. She'll stay the night and both board the plane early tomorrow morning. Then they'll pick up Kevin on their way here."

A silence descended on the three, the only sounds being the background of the city and the crackling flames.

"Hey, Jayden?"

"Yeah, Emily?"

"Was it just me or was that woman, Yuki, kind of weird?"

Jayden didn't respond right away. Instead, he sighed before saying, "If by 'weird', you mean that she was capable of predicting how we would move, then yeah." He fully turned to his two perplexed friends before continuing. "I didn't want to mention this, but it seemed like she _knew_ what we would do. Almost as if she had seen it before. What if she had seen our fights with the Nighloks? She even mentioned that Akuma was going to take out Xandred themselves, so what if they had sat back and watched while we did their dirty work? They know all about our fighting styles, the disks, our Symbol Power, and possibly even our weaknesses."

Emily let out a shocked gasp while Antonio nodded dismally.

"That's what I thought. There's no way someone we just met could so perfectly dodge my high speed Barracuda Barrage without getting at least a scratch. It's impossible! _Lo imposible_!"

"That means," Emily began.

"That anything we've done before, we have to assume that they know about it already. If we want to fight them, we're going to come up with some new tactics." Jayden finished. Antonio 'hmm'ed for a few seconds, before he snapped his fingers as his face lit up.

"Jayden! I've got a golden idea!" he brought their heads together as he whispered his plan. When they broke apart, Jayden and Emily were busy contemplating while Antonio beamed. "It's _fantastico_! Right?"

"It could work," Jayden admitted, "but we still need something more. At best, that'll last for only a couple of fights. And that's only if we're lucky." Antonio went from overjoyed to depressed so fast he could've been mistaken as bipolar.

"Let's do it anyways," Emily quickly interjected. "It's not like we have anything else, do we? We have to take a chance!"

Jayden looked at her. "Em, I never said that we wouldn't use it," Antonio instantly perked up and Emily felt her face growing warm. "I just said that it wasn't enough." He stood up. "Are you guys warm enough now?" Emily nodded, but Antonio just shook his entire body. "Alright. Em, come with me. I think I know where we can find a lead. Antonio, stay here. Come inside when you're warm enough, but remember to put out the fire." He gave a small sneeze before nodding.

Emily followed Jayden to the living room and took a seat. Jayden left for a few moments before returning with an armful of old books and papers. He repeated this process a couple of times until there was a small paper mountain atop the table. He grunted as he deposited the last of them before picking one up. On the cover was some kanji that Emily didn't recognize.

"Hey Jayden? What does that say?"

Jayden glanced at the cover before replying, "It says _Shinken_, which is roughly translated as the 'true/real sword'." He saw her next question and answered before she could ask. "I had Jii's older brother in Japan send it when we were busy fighting Xandred, though it wasn't really needed by the time it had arrived. And yes, Jii has a brother. He's the caretaker of my cousin."

"You have a cousin?"

"Yeah, two." Jayden wouldn't say anything more on the subject. Emily tried to change the topic.

"So, about this _Shinken_…"

"Shin-what?" Antonio asked as he walked in.

"_Shinken_, 'the real sword'. It might hold the key to powering up," Jayden explained.

"Why/How?" Emily and Antonio questioned simultaneously.

Jayden sighed. "You two should probably get comfortable; this might take a while." They did just that. "Em, as you know our ancestors used Symbol Power to transform and combat Nighloks to protect the Earth. What's less widely known is that they originally used swords called _Shinkenmaru_ in their fight against the Nighloks, which were called Ayakashi back then." Something in Jayden's memory stirred, but it was too blurry for him to decipher. "Somewhere along the line between their time and ours, the _Shinkenmaru_ were replaced by our current Spin Swords. And, while the Spin Swords are a really good imitation, they can't duplicate the original power of the _Shinkenmaru_.

"Some time last year, Jii was researching ways to help us defeat Xandred when he chanced upon an old book which held some vital information about _Shinkenmaru_. When he wrote to his elder brother, he discovered that the swords were still in existence, but they were then unavailable. That didn't stop Jii, though.

"He began to fervently investigate the matter and discovered a way to transform our Spin Swords into _Shinkenmaru_. However, at that time, Xandred had risen and we were occupied with fighting him. All further inquiry on the matter were put on hiatus to focus entirely on our battle against Xandred and by the time Jii had the luxury to continue, we had won and it was more or less unnecessary. Unfortunately, as you know that is not entirely true.

"Although, there is some good news. According to Jii's notes, it should be similar to the case with the Black Box." At that, both Jayden's and Emily's focus turned to Antonio, who pointed at himself and mouthed 'Me?'. "That's right. You're key to this my friend. And if Jii is correct then when you're successful, then we can probably double our current strength." Both Emily and Antonio processed this information quietly.

"_No te preocupes mi amigo_!" Antonio exclaimed loudly, leaping to his feet and startling Jayden and Emily. "I can do this no problem! Let me at it!"

Jayden smirked. "I'd thought you would say that." He suddenly adopted a serious expression again. "There's just one problem. While the method is similar, we can't do the same thing as we did with the Black Box." Antonio's grin faltered slightly.

"So then, what should we do?" Emily voiced her thoughts aloud.

This time Jayden gave a weary sigh and motioned towards the large pile of difficult-looking books lying on the table. "Jii narrowed down the information to be somewhere among these texts." Emily and Antonio's eyes widened. That was a lot of reading. She picked up one with a little difficulty and cracked it open. Her eyes widened even further when page upon page of difficult looking Japanese characters greeted her.

"Jayden! Are all of these books in Japanese?" she asked incredulously.

"They did come from Japan," was his replied. "Don't worry Em. Leave those to me. I just need you to read through Jii's notes to see if there's anything I overlooked." Emily sighed in relief. She had vastly improved her knowledge of the language, but she didn't feel confident enough to translate all of those books. She did notice that there were a considerable amount of papers and began to wonder how long it would take for her to read through them.

Antonio, on the other hand, was sweating profusely. "Hey Jayden, buddy, _amigo_! Please don't tell me you want me to read those… books. Do you?" Under his breath he began rapidly muttering something in Spanish to indistinct for them to hear.

Jayden was silent and just looked between Antonio and the books. Antonio hung his head and resigned himself to his fate. He snapped his head back up when he heard Jayden chuckling.

"No you don't have to help with this right now, but we will need you soon enough." Jayden finally said after a while. Antonio was somewhere between immensely relieved, moderately peeved, and slightly shocked. Emily found his expression rather comical and giggled. Jayden let this continue for a few seconds before deciding to continue. "Although, there is one thing that I need you to do and it's related to your idea earlier."

They spoke in hushed tones, making Emily feel a bit left out. When they finished, Antonio shouted, "_Fantastico_!" before running back outside. Jayden picked up his book again and began to read. Emily waited a couple of minutes before she her curiosity got the best of her.

"What was that about?"

Jayden looked at her calmly before smirking. "Something Antonio had made, but never used," he said cryptically. Emily gave up and began to read through the nearest stack of papers.

[Scene Change]

In a dark, unknown area surrounded by trees, Yuki had stumbled for the twentieth time in the past hour and screeched angrily. '_How dare those Rangers do this to me_,' she thought angrily. Uproarious laughter echoed all around her.

"The so-called 'Ice Queen', reduced to this? Oh, how absolutely humiliating!"

Yuki took a deep breath and began to speak calmly. "All right, Crow, you've had your fun. Now come out so we can talk and so I CAN TURN YOU INTO AN ICICLE!"

'Crow' seemed to find this hilarious, as he merely laughed louder. "Who would actually listen to that?" Nonetheless, a figure materialized in one of the trees, preferring to stay hidden within the shadows.

"Have you just come here to laugh, or is the 'messenger' actually doing his job for once?" Yuki all but spat out at his concealed form.

"How cruel," Crow pretended to be offended. "I do my job more than just once. Why, just last week–"

"Just get to the point already!"

"Of course," Yuki couldn't see him, but she was sure he was sporting that absolutely infuriating, not to mention arrogant, smirk of his. "Central sent me here to pass on the message... uh... give me a second... right! They told me to pass on this message: 'This war is to be fought on two fronts' yada yada. Everyone's being called back so they can find out where they're being dispatched."

"Tell them that I must be assigned here. Is that all?"

"Got it. I'm also supposed receive your report on the Rangers. So, what's up?"

"They are currently scattered, and we have a few days before they're altogether. And they're stronger than previously thought."

Crow jotted down everything on a small notebook, notably using a feather as a pen. "Then we have a couple of days before we have to act. Higher ups want to wait til they're all together so we can eliminate them all in one swoop."

Yuki growled before saying, "That's a mistake. Tell them we need to act now before they reunite. They're far stronger as a team than individually."

"Noted." Crow motioned to leave, but Yuki stopped him.

"What are you doing? Central is in the other direction."

"Again, noted." Crow repeated, sounding bored. "I already passed on the message and got your report. Those were my orders. Nobody said I couldn't have a little fun before returning…" He vanished in a gust of wind, leaving behind naught but a few ebony feathers.

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**Thanks once again for reading! Remember to Review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Premonitions and Late Nights

Greetings and Salutations to the world of fanfiction! Sorry it took me a while to update; my computer broke down on me, erasing what I had already typed. It took a while to get it fixed, but when I finally did I had to start from scratch. It's still a bit wonky, so I might not be able to update fast. Again, apologies for that, but I'm just glad I can write stories again. Oh, and the action packed chapter's going to have to wait until the next chapter or the next next chapter. Or maybe the latter half of the next chapter and the first half of the next next chapter.

Did anyone happen to catch the premier of the new Power Rangers Megaforce? I was kinda hoping for a new theme, like Super Sentai, but meh, whatever. Either way, the 20th and latest installation is supposed to have elements from both Tensou Sentai Goseiger and Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. Shoot, I was hoping for an entire season about pirates, but again, whatever. I do wonder if they're going to do the 'Ranger Keys' thing that allows them to morph into past Ranger incarnations?

Disclaimer: Do I really have to do a disclaimer? It should be pretty obvious that I do not own Power Rangers in any way, shape, or form. Oh, wait... Nope, still don't own it. Rats.

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Chapter 4 – Premonitions and Late Nights

_Emily groaned. What just happened? Calm down, she told herself, think. Try to remember. She, Jayden, and Antonio were suddenly ambushed by a black-clad figure, we fought, we had him against the ropes, and then he called these strange birds… that… exploded…_

_With no small effort, she lifted her head and took a quick glance around the battlefield. It was as she feared. She and Antonio were down and demorphed, with Antonio seemingly out for the count. Jayden was trying his best to fend off both their mysterious assailant with his Spin Sword on one side and blasting the birds with the Bullzooka while defending his friends, but he wasn't faring so well. If he focused too much on the fight with their attacker, one of the birds would swoop down and detonate. If he tried to concentrate on shooting down the feathery bombs, the enemy would get in a strike past his defenses._

_Her eyes widened as she saw a small flock quickly ascend above her Jayden, out of his range of vision. They made a descended rapidly towards an unassuming Jayden. That was the same technique that took out her and Antonio! Just one of those irritating pests could do a lot of damage. That many, and against Jayden's already exhausted state, might annihilate him!_

_She desperately tried to call out, to move, to do something! But she couldn't. All she could do was watch helplessly as the birds almost completed their suicide dive towards their fearless leader, heavily intent on taking him out with them. In her peripheral vision, she could see Antonio shakily rising to his feet, but he was in no condition to do anything. She managed to bring herself to a crawling position, but it was too late. The mysterious foe had leapt back, out of the range of the explosion. Jayden quickly looked up, and Emily could tell that his eyes had widened from underneath his helmet._

_With renewed strength surging from an unknown source, Emily leapt to her feet and began running towards her… her Jayden, just a second too late._

_BOOM!_

"JAYDEN!"

"Emily! Wake up!"

"Huh?" _Thud!_ "Ow!"

Emily gingerly rubbed her sore rear before looking around, fearing the worst. But her worry was all for naught. They were still at the Shiba house, pouring over a mess of tomes and notes looking for a clue towards remaking the _Shinkenmaru_. There was no fight, it was just a dream.

She sighed in relief, before picking herself up and returning to the chair she presumably fell off of. Across the table, Jayden stared at her with concern apparent in his gaze.

"Are you alright? You fell asleep while going over Jii's notes. It sounded like you were having some dream," he explained. He purposely left out the fact that she had called his name shortly before awakening. He would burn that bridge when the time comes, but not before then.

"More like a nightmare," Emily muttered. She tried to remember what exactly she was dreaming about earlier, but soon found that she could not remember a single detail aside from the fact that it featured Jayden in some way.

_I really hope I didn't talk in my sleep_, she thought to herself. A glance outside the window revealed that it was well past dark, which came as a shock to her since the last she checked, it was still light out. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Three, four hours probably," Jayden shrugged as he returned to a really, _really _thick book. Emily suddenly felt a pang of guilt. _Had he been reading through all of the books and reports by himself?_

Her stomach let out a small growl, but it still enough for Jayden to notice. As he turned to her again, Emily was quickly feeling her guilt being overrun by embarrassment. He raised an eyebrow and she felt her face become aflame with redness.

Jayden tactfully put down the book and led her to the kitchen, where there was a covered plate with her name on it. "Antonio made us some seafood curry with rice. It should still be warm, but I can heat it up for you if you'd like."

"No, it's fine!" Emily sat down and uncovered the dish. The aroma was absolutely tantalizing and quickly made her mouth water. She took a bite, and was overwhelmed with flavor. "This is delicious!" she exclaimed, quickly taking another bite. She could practically taste the exotic fish Antonio used to make it. Speaking of which… Emily gulped down a mouthful of the tasty curry before asking, "Where is Antonio?"

"He was a bit tired from his special training, so he decided to turn in early," replied Jayden. "Though he still managed to make dinner for all of us. He figured you would be hungry after waking up."

Emily was busy with swallowing another mouthful of curry. "With food like this, who wouldn't be?"

"There's more in the pot if you want," Jayden gestured to the countertop, where a medium-sized pot was currently resting. "I'll just go back to reading. Try to get some sleep when you're done, okay?" She nodded and he went back to his book. He still had a lot to finish reading.

[Scene Change]

Somewhere around the outskirts of the city, a certain crow materialized in a flurry of feathers. He scratched the back of head in confusion. "I was trying to get inside the city, not just outside it. This teleporting thing is really frustrating sometimes."

A sudden beeping emanating from his belt made him jump. He retrieved some kind of phone from one his pockets, pausing momentarily to consider the strangeness of an ancient monster using modern technology (he was actually one of the few in Akuma who didn't mind using it). The constant beeping snapped him right out of his thoughts and prompted him to answer.

"Yo, Crow here. Hello? Yes sir, I can hear you. For the seven hundredth twenty eighth time, this isn't magic, it's called technology, more specifically a 'cell phone'. No, I can't see you right now. How am I supposed to know how many talons you have behind your back? Ugh, I don't know, three? Hello? Hello? Sir, if you want me to hear you, you need to speak into the mike. No, not Mike, I meant the microphone!" Crow rubbed his temples in frustration. Why were only a handful of people in Akuma capable of making a simple phone call? And why did it seem that he had to explain how phones work to every, single person who calls him?

Crow let out a dejected sigh. Suddenly, he perked up at something he heard on the other end. "Well, hellloooooo nurse!" he exclaimed happily. "Yes, I know you aren't a nurse. And don't call cartoons stupid! Yep, I finished my messenger job. I know, she was shocked about it too. Oh yeah, Yuki said she wanted to be stationed here. Apparently she's ticked off about something again. Alrighty then, I guess she'll be pretty pleased then.

"Hmm? No, I'm not doing anything I shouldn't; just passing some time. Scout's honor!" _Though technically I'm not a scout, since I'm a courier._ "Huh? Wow, that's kind of creepy, how you can read minds like that. Yeah, I'll be back in a couple of days. I dunno, give or take a week. I know, teleporting is kind of irritating. I was just… you read my mind again, didn't you? Stop doing that! Bye!" Crow abruptly hung up his phone and returned it to his pocket.

Well, technically he wasn't doing anything against their orders, since they never said that he couldn't. Crow sighed before running his hand through his hair. Time to do things the old-fashioned way, he says to himself as he starts walking. It was a good thing he had an excellent sense of direction (lie).

[Scene Change]

"_The Shinkenmaru and Spin Swords are exactly alike except for one key difference that isn't noticeable to anybody but the user. The difference is that the Shinkenmaru are capable of channeling Mojikara, or Symbol Power, more efficiently to increase strength and effectiveness while lessening the strain on the user. This allows the user to employ more powerful symbols and last longer_," Jayden read aloud. He was sore and very tired, his eyes were bloodshot, and not to mention he's resisting the very strong urge to just fall asleep right then and there. But he couldn't stop. He was almost there, he can _feel _it. He yawned before continuing, "_The configuration of the two swords is structurally the same, so converting a Spin Sword into a Shinkenmaru is actually a simple process. All that is required is to…_"

"Jayden!" the arrival of two new voices made him wearily turn to the entrance, where he saw two people rushing towards him. Who were they again? They were his friends… the fisherman and the nice girl.

"Jayden, don't tell me you were up all night reading?" the nice girl scolded him, not-so-nicely. She had an odd expression, like she was feeling bad or something.

"_Amigo_! You really should get some sleep _lo antes posible_!" the fisherman said. What did he say? He needs some sleep so ants possible? But he just found out what he needed to do!

"Hey guys… listen," if he were fully awake, he would've winced at the way he slurred his speech. "About the swords, all you need to do is…"

"Shh!" the nice girl kneeled down next to him(apparently he had fallen off his chair and onto the oh-so comfortable floor while he was talking) and carefully lifted his head from the floor and moved it to her lap. "Just sleep for now. The swords can wait a couple of hours. Focus on resting, okay?"

Her voice was so soothing to him, that he gave up the struggle to stay awake and began nestling in the nice girl's lap, ignoring her squeaking and tensing up. The last thing he said before completely fell under the enchanting spell of sleep was, "You smell nice, nice girl."

…

Antonio was trying his best, honest, to hold in his laughter. Though he was really doing a poor job. He just couldn't help it! Emily's expression was _hilarious_! She was so red, she could do a good job masquerading as either Jayden or Lauren in their Ranger forms.

He was about to open his mouth and make some sort of remark about the situation, but Emily quickly shot him a glare that threatened pain in the very near future if he so much as said a single word about this situation. How she managed to look so terrifying while blushing so heavily was beyond him, but he wisely chose to keep his comments to himself.

_Not so nice from the 'nice girl'_, he thought. Clearing his throat, he said, "That's… one way to handle Jayden, I suppose. I've never seen him give in so willingly before."

"Yeah, well, he must've been a whole lot more tired than we thought," she retorted a bit too loudly before covering her mouth with her hands. She checked just to make sure, and sure enough, Jayden was O-U-T. He didn't even stir. She sighed in relief before turning back to Antonio, who had gone into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She was about to get up to help, but then she realized that she overlooked one very important fact.

"Antonio?" she called out nervously. He returned in a flash, smirking. "I'm kind of stuck."

He knew it. He couldn't suppress the chuckle that made its way past his defenses, not that he was trying. He just patted her head and told her, "Don't worry about it, I've got breakfast covered. _Tener alegria_…" And with that, he walked back into the kitchen.

He wasn't coming back, was he? "Antonio?" Nope. "Antonio? ANTONIO!"

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**Thanks for reading everybody! I humbly beseech thee to leaveth a review-eth.**


	5. Chapter 5: Of Dancing and Developments

_Hola_, _bonjour_, and what not. Storm Hawk 21 here with the latest chapter for Samurai Forever. Again, I would've updated sooner, but I haven't been online in a while. Plus I was and still am working on two other, new fanfictions that I definitely will be posting as soon as I edit and revise some things. They aren't one-shots, and I've planned for them to be pretty long. How long I have no idea. But be on the look out for them.

Second and foremost, a very sincere thank you to everybody who's been reading this humble little story of mine. Samurai Forever has already passed 1000 views! I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting that. Heck, I wasn't even expecting me to continue with this. I wasn't feeling too sure about it, but I've already got a ton of ideas I can use. Again, thanks to everybody who's been reading along and I hope that you'll keep reading as long as I keep writing and posting new chapters.

Oh, and happy Singles Awareness Day, otherwise known as Valentine's Day to all you couples out there. Gotta say, not my favorite holiday, but hey, at least free candy is involved.

Disclaimer: I own Power Rangers, riiiiiight. Just in case you didn't know or are one of those people who require a sarcasm sign (guess which show I got that from), that was sarcasm. I don't actually own Power Rangers.

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Chapter 5 – Of Dancing and Developments

Antonio hummed to himself as he prepared the last of his exotic fish. As tasty as it was, it was starting to get a bit old. Fish was meant to be served fresh, after all! But the fish over at the Panorama City docks is nothing compared to the fish he's caught around the globe. Ah, if only there was a body of water where every fish from all over the world resided; an "all-blue" if you will… Oh man, he could feel the drool threatening to spill all over breakfast.

Antonio was so busy fantasizing about his mythical (?) ocean that he almost didn't notice that he was salivating, or that his phone was vibrating and flashing. Somebody had sent him a message. He wiped his drool and flipped his phone open and began reading.

_To: GoldFisher_

_ From: PrincessofRed_

_ Hey Antonio. Are you at the Shiba house? Jayden said that you would be back yesterday. We managed to catch an earlier flight, and Mia and I are right outside. I can't seem get in touch with my brother. Is he still sleeping? Anyway, we're heading inside now._

Antonio stared blankly at his phone for a few seconds, letting it all sink in. He found it sort of typical that Lauren would use proper grammar and spell out the words even in text messages, not to offend her in any way. He supposed that it was due to her upbringing and–oh flipping flounder. They're right outside. And in the living room was…

Emily was incredibly confused when Antonio dashed out of the kitchen and rushed outside, only to run back in screaming about something flaming fish. She was confused further when he ran back out; though she could've sworn she heard a _click_ sound this time around, like somebody was snapping a picture or something. Oh well, she had other things to do than to ponder Antonio's odd behavior. Like how she could get out of her "predicament" (not that she was trying too hard, mind you).

"And save…" said Antonio, closing his phone. Jayden may be his best friend, but there are some things that he just couldn't resist. Plus a little blackmail material never hurt anyone, if you don't count the person being blackmailed.

He managed to catch Lauren and Mia just as they were entering the Shiba estate. Now all he had to do was keep them from going inside. _Oh well, here goes nothing_, he thought to himself.

"_Hola chicas_! _Cómo te va_?" he greeted. Before either could reply, he whipped out a remote and pressed a button. His cart, which he left over at the sparring grounds, opened up to reveal a high-tech, surround sound system. "Random dance party! To celebrate LAUREN and MIA, who ARE BACK EARLY!" Hopefully Emily had heard him. Ignoring the girls' weirded out expressions, he grabbed Lauren by the hand and shouted, "Octo Zord! Hit it!"

Tango music filled the air and Antonio began dancing as best as he could with his best friend's sister while their teammate is slowly inching away from them and his zords were busting out their own moves atop his cart. Needless to say, this was probably the weirdest thing he has ever done.

When Antonio noticed Mia had reached the door and was about to enter, he spun Lauren away and pressed his remote again, switching the music to rumba. "Partner change!" he exclaimed, dragging Mia away from the house. Lauren managed to stop spinning, but was rather dizzy and disoriented as a result. She began stumbling towards the house, but was once again blocked by Antonio. He changed the music again, this time to something livelier and reminiscent of a hoedown. Square dancing.

Antonio groaned. It just had to be that. Well, at least now he could distract both girls at the same time.

Why did he even have to learn square dancing anyway? He was cursing his high school gym teacher for making him take lessons. It wasn't his fault he couldn't join the track team! He had samurai training! Jayden would owe him so bad for this.

Emily niña, que había hecho algo major por ahora_!_ he thought._ And I mean now! I'm running myself ragged here!_

Antonio was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he had spent too much time on Lauren instead of switching his partner. Mia had managed to escape from the one-man dance party long enough to stagger inside, only to trip on something. As she fell, she managed to catch sight of what tripped her up. Or rather, who. A crash, followed by a rather loud and girly squeal broke through both the music and Antonio's thoughts. He winced when he realized what had just happened, and rushed inside with Lauren in tow. Hopefully Emily had…

Nope. Somehow she found herself in an even more mortifying and compromising position. She had panicked upon hearing Antonio's poorly hidden message, and had hurried to remove Jayden from herself. She was embarrassed when he decided to start unconsciously cuddling her as best as he could from his position. Emily had just managed to untangle him from her when Mia had come in and bumped into her. Now she was splayed out on top of her leader and – oh samurai spirits. He was _spooning_ with her!

Mia was currently suffering from something that very closely resembled what she had once heard Serena describe as a serious case fangirlism. Antonio, though panting, smirked and the only thing that refrained him from making some sort of remark was that he was too busy trying not to cough out his lungs. And Lauren was just confused, almost adorably so.

A palpable silence descended upon the Shiba house. And to make matters even more awkward, Jayden chose that exact moment to wake up.

"Can't a guy get some sleep around here?" he crossly yelled before burying his head into Emily's hair. She let out a sound that resembled a squeak combined with some sort of dolphin noise. Her face was so red, it was practically a new color entirely.

It was at this point that Antonio decided to give in and fall over laughing. He didn't care if he lost his lungs; he couldn't breathe anyway! And it certainly didn't help when Lauren innocently asked about what her brother and Emily were doing and why was Emily so flustered.

After a series of explanations, separating the "lovely couple" ("Shut up Antonio!"), and setting Jayden down on some of the seats, Emily and Antonio decided to fill in Lauren and Mia about everything that had happened recently.

Lauren got over the shock pretty fast, almost _too _fast. Like she was already aware of the situation or had expected this to happen.

"I had hoped that I had erred with my premonition," muttered Lauren. Seeing the looks her friends were giving her, she decided to elaborate. "I had an… unpleasant dream the other day. I cannot seem to remember most of it, but some of the details I can recall were somewhat disturbing to say the least."

She shuddered. She did not wish to relive any part of that nightmare. She was hoping that it was merely that, a nightmare, but according to what Emily and Antonio had just told her, it may sadly not be the case. Then her expression changed to something else: sorrow.

"Had everything our ancestors fought for been nothing but a sham? All for naught? I refuse to believe it, but it seems to be so," she said in a dejected tone.

"Lauren…" Mia made to comfort her, but Antonio interrupted her.

"Hey! Try not to look too down _chica_. _No se preocupe_!" Before his friends could ask, he translated, "It means 'no worries'! Your ancestors fought their battle with a firm belief in their cause. Now it's our turn, and we can't be _abatido_, now can we?

"Besides," he winked at Lauren. "You look _más bonita_ when you're happy."

"Stay away from my sister," Jayden sleepily mumbled. He yawned. "That includes you Antonio."

Everyone cracked up at that. That is, until the gap sensor went off. Then it was all business. Jayden shot up, one hundred percent awake and alert. He glanced at the gap sensor, and then at his friends. Lauren pulled up the city map display.

"Number twenty-one, the park! Rangers, let's go!"

"Right!" "How come I never get to say 'let's go'?"

They all glanced at Antonio. "What? It's true."

Jayden sighed. "Fine, you can say it now."

"No, you already said it. The moment, it is lost."

"Then you can say it next time. Let's go!"

"See! You did it again!"

"ANTONIO!"

[Scene Change]

Lauren opted to stay behind, as a reserve just in case something happens. That left Jayden, Emily, Mia, and Antonio to deal with… whatever it was that tripped the sensor. Speaking of which…

"Hey Jayden?" asked Mia. The park was relatively nearby, so they decided to just run there rather than take the car. "These guys are different from the Nighloks, right?"

"Right."

"Then how do they set off the sensor? They aren't coming from the Sanzu River."

"Yeah, I've been wondering that myself," Emily added.

"Allow me," Antonio chimed in. "Jii had me modify the gap sensors so they could detect evil and malicious Nighlok or Nighlok-like presences in the vicinity. They don't have to emerge from the gaps for us to sense them anymore. You could say that it was a precaution taken against Deker and other rogue Nighloks."

"Oh," the Yellow and Pink Rangers nodded. Jayden just focused on what was ahead of them. They were nearing the park, but he was hit with the feeling of déjà vu. It wasn't until they had arrived did he realize why.

The park was empty. They were standing under a particularly thick copse of trees near the center of the park and they couldn't see a single trace of anybody or feel the slightest of breezes. It was like the park was completely and absolutely devoid of wind along with any form of life other than the plants and a few small animal. The latter of which were completely spooked and bolted as soon as they were spotted. But he knew it wasn't that snow woman. Something was off, different.

The temperature! It was still warm, and he did not feel the temperature shift in the least. So it wasn't her; someone related to the organization perhaps?

Jayden suddenly felt something tingling in the back of his mind. His senses were alerting him to some sort of danger, but what? He looked up, and his eyes widened.

"FORWARD ROLL!"

Jayden dove past his friends as soon as he finished shouting the order. Instinctively, the others somersaulted forward just as a tree branch the size of a large horse fell where they were standing mere moments before. It hit the ground with a large thud, reminding them that they had very narrowly avoided being crushed.

"Whoa," Emily nervously sighed. "That was close. Thanks Jayden."

Jayden wasn't listening. He looked left and right, trying to catch sight of something. "On your guard team," he told them. "Something's out here."

Slow, sarcastic clapping filled the air, making the Rangers tense up. Jayden scanned the entire area around them… there!

In one of the trees, in one of the shadowy boughs, a black-clad figure was applauding them. He leapt down and landed with very little noise. The team took note of his appearance for the first time. He was decked out in classic ninja gear, only without the top portion of the mask. What was noteworthy about him was his hair. It was styled in a way that resembled two cat ears. Other than that, it was pretty messy, as if he had just gotten out of bed or something. He also wore a long strip of cloth that went around his waist before trailing behind him, giving the impression that he had a tail.

As soon as his appearance was revealed, Emily felt her blood run cold. Snippets of her dream came back to her, but their adversary in her dream wasn't dressed as a ninja. Still… there has to be a connection.

"You," the ninja pointed at Jayden, "are one sharp katana. As for the rest of you," he looked at Mia, then Emily, and finally at Antonio and made a 'so-so' gesture. "Could be worse I suppose. Definitely need to learn to be more in tune with your surroundings." He jotted something down in a notepad which he pulled out of his sleeve.

"Are you from Akuma?" asked Antonio.

"Hmm?" the ninja looked up from his notes. "Straight to the point, huh? I guess you do have some redeeming qualities after all!" He clapped once more before jotting down something else in his notes. After a few seconds, he put the notepad back wherever it came from and fully focused on the Rangers.

"To answer your question, yes, I am from Akuma. If you want to be specific, I am of the _Kuro Battalion_. In your language, my name's 'Black Cat', codename: 'Jinx'." He visibly winced at his words. "I know, not the most original. It's downright cliché and an overused concept. You know what, just call me B.C.."

"Let me guess," Jayden spoke up. "Your codename is Jinx because it's unlucky for people to meet you."

"Well, there's that," B.C. nodded, apparently deep in thought. "But it's also because of my specialty: I'm a bad luck magnet. And I can share that with or have it affect others when I want to, thus turning it to good luck for me. That tree limb on the ground is proof of that." He slowly and deliberately brought his middle finger and thumb together. "I'd run if I were you. Even I don't know what could happen."

B.C. snapped his fingers. The once serene park erupted into chaos. It had begun.

"Go go Samuraizers!"

"Samurai Morpher! Gold Power!"

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**Thanks for reading! Remember to review! Good night everybody!**


	6. Chapter 6: Bad Luck

Ladies and gentlemen of fanfiction, I, Storm Hawk 21, present the latest chapter of Samurai Forever. I gotta say, it was a hassle getting this out. I'm a procrastinator by nature, and I loathe having to do anything other than slacking off. Still, I enjoy writing and I promise that this story will be continued. I just don't know when I might update it. Oh, and I'm going to be working on some other fics as well. I might alternate updating stories, or just do them both at the same time. I don't know yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. From Mighty Morphing to Megaforce and everything that comes afterwards, me no own.

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Chapter 6 – Bad Luck

The moment they morphed, all four Rangers leapt in a different direction just as a massive crevice appeared below where they previously were. They landed just as the light faded to reveal them suited up and ready for a battle.

"Samurai Ranger Red, Jayden! Ready!"

"The same! Pink, Mia! Ready!"

"The same! Yellow, Emily! Ready!"

"The same! Gold, Antonio! Ready!"

"Samurai banding together to save the world, POWER RANGERS SAMURAI! Ready for battle!"

"Wow," B. C. whistled. "Nice reflexes." He stressed every syllable, so it sounded more like, "NA-I-SU RE-FU-RE-KU-SE-SU". He snapped his fingers again.

The Rangers tensed, expecting another chasm to suddenly appear out of thin air. They were completely unprepared for Jayden slipping and nearly losing his grip on his sword. Jayden picked himself up, nodding.

"So that's what you meant by 'bad luck'," he mused. "But it'll take more than a few bruises and scrapes to stop us."

"I know." B. C. reached into his shōzoku and pulled out…

Antonio's eyes widened. "JAYDEN! MOVE!"

Jayden rolled away in time to see a few shots whiz by. Antonio rushed B. C. at a speed the others haven't seen in a long time, his Barracuda Blade a blur along with the rest of him. Yet, much like before, their opponent seemed to know where the next strike would be two strikes ago. However, Antonio learned from his previous experience and took a half step back just as B. C. lashed out with some wicked looking claws. They harmlessly hit nothing but air.

Using his opponent's surprise, Antonio bashed him right in the skull with the pommel of his sword, sending him reeling back. Emily and Mia chose this moment to join in the fray, only to fall flat on their face when the ground beneath their feet collapsed into a small trench and tripped them up.

B. C. steadied himself and was rubbing a spot on his forehead. "Yow, that wasn't half-bad!" He applauded again, this time sounding more sincere. "Even fools learn, I suppose. But how did you know?"

"We encountered one of your officers before," Antonio replied. "The _enfriada con hielo_ snow woman."

"Ah, you must mean Yuki," B. C. snapped his fingers again, though this time it seemed to be unintentional. In the distance, Jayden heard a large crash followed by a discordant note and a somewhat agonized shriek echoing after it. What was that?

At the site of the incident…

The man was speechless. His mouth was gaping without a single syllable being so much as uttered. Oh the horror! The sheer, absolute, and complete horror! He wanted to look away, but he couldn't bear to divert his eyes from the terrible carnage.

He was just walking along the road and said hi to the nice mover fellows when _it_ happened. Someone laid out a fresh pie on the nearby windowsill and the two men, entranced by the tantalizing aroma, practically floated all the way to it. However, they had momentarily forgotten their task and let go of the rope they were using to hoist up a large grand piano.

Without anything to anchor it, the two-ton instrument plummeted right on… on… on…

"MY CABBAGES!"

Underneath the trashed piano, the wreckage of what used to be a cabbage cart complete with produce was completely flattened and unsalvageable. The man dropped to his knees, tears freely falling from his eyes and loud sobs escaping him. He had to be strong…

The man took one more look at his beloved cabbages, and gave in to the immense sorrow. His precious… his precious… precious!

Doesn't this stuff only happen in TV and cartoons?!

Back to the Future! Wait, wrong series…

Back to the park and the Rangers…

"That ice woman always seems to cause trouble for us," B. C. muttered. "It's like she delights in seeing us have to toil laboriously because of something she did…" He continued on his tirade and began to mumble a few choice words to describe her that were too graphic for the nature of this fanfic.

Whoa. Is that even a word, let alone possible? And I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Hey, that one's not even part of any known language!

Ahem…

The team took a few moments to stare in shock. Antonio was first to break the silence.

"Well, I guess you learn a few things if you've been around that long…"

"Yep!" B. C. exclaimed proudly. "Youngsters today think they're so bad, swearing and cursing with every other word. But they aren't anywhere close to the masters! And the words now are mostly just negative meaning words that were perverted into something bad. Wait til you hear some _real_ cussing!"

Mia scrambled to cover the sides of Emily's helmet. Strangely enough, it had worked, and for the next several moments all Emily could see was their adversary angrily shouting words and phrases into the air and Jayden and Antonio were apparently shouting something back. She couldn't really tell, since both of them had helmets on, but she was fairly certain. After a while, B. C. continued with his yelling and the two friends began to comically chase him around the park. Emily mentally played some circus music in her mind to go along with it and nearly burst out into laughter.

It was even funnier since B. C. was using his powers to make the two of them trip up in ridiculous ways. Neither of them got hurt, but they were probably getting pretty exasperated and fed up by now.

"Jayden, (_huff, huff_) this is (_wheeze_) _muy ridículo_!" Antonio panted. He was doubled over, hands on his knees and breathing heavily. Jayden was only slightly better off.

"I agree, but don't you think something is strange?"

If he wasn't wearing a helmet, Antonio's ludicrous expression would be visible. "We're modern day samurai in spandex fighting to protect the world from monsters straight out of mythology and we're currently chasing a black cat ninja who causes bad luck whenever he snaps his fingers _and_ he's swearing enough to make an entire crew of sailors faint. Nothing is strange to me anymore, _mi amigo_."

"That's actually perfectly normal for a Ranger," Jayden pointed out. "What I'm talking about is the fact that we're already this tired." He would've said more, but he was interrupted by a fit of coughing.

"I was wondering when you would notice," B. C. approached them. "It wouldn't be sportily of me to not explain why, so I will. Tell your friend to remove her hands from your other friend's ears. I really don't want to have to explain it twice." Jayden and Antonio told Mia to go along with it and she reluctantly complied.

"All of us Akuma members and others like us actually don't exactly exist in your world. Or, more specifically, few of us actually have a corporeal form. We need to make one so we can appear and interact with people and objects of interest in this plane, but to do that we need a certain amount of a specific type of energy.

"Before, we would use our own powers to generate that energy, but that method tended to drain us quickly and most of us couldn't keep it up for long. That's when we discovered you humans. You naturally generate and emit the energy we needed. Now, if that were it, then we could probably live side-by-side with you by living off of the natural discharge you produce. But that wasn't the case.

"The main problem is that there just wasn't enough to maintain some of the more powerful ones. Low-level peons, like Moogers, or some of less aggressive were perfectly fine, but many of us were unsatisfied and refused to leave it at that. Our researchers spent centuries to discover ways which we can extract more energy from you humans. We had our first major breakthrough when we discovered that we can stimulate the production and release of that energy by causing a state of fear and panic in the subject. That held us over for a good while, but it just didn't last.

"Over the years, we grew stronger and found that what we were managing to harvest wasn't enough anymore. Some of us panicked, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit that a few took some rather, ahem, _drastic_ measures to try to produce more energy. It didn't work and all it didn't was cause humans to be wary and furious. We ended up going into hiding, and we would've stayed that way if our researchers hadn't made their second breakthrough.

"They managed to narrow down what it was exactly that provided us sustenance: life force. That explained a lot and made it easier for them to come up with more ways to increase the harvest. But again, some of us went a little overboard and we had to temporarily retreat. Then came the third and latest breakthrough: technology.

"While most of us were woefully inept, the few that were tech-savvy constructed a device which allowed us to extract enough energy from not only humans, but all living things to sustain ourselves just by being within a certain range. Of course there was a lot of trial and error, somebody once melted their bum off by accident – long story, kind of funny actually – and there was a lot of debate as to how big the radius should be before it was decided that it should be set to 'close proximity'."

Mia was horrified. "You mean, this entire time, you were drain us of our life?"

"Not quite," admitted B. C. "Some time ago, we discovered a certain strain of humans were resistant to our drainers. We narrowed it down to what is called the 'Ranger Gene'. Or the 'Sentai Gene', but you probably don't even know anything about that and don't need to. Except maybe for the young lord over there." He gestured to Jayden.

B. C. cleared his throat. "No, the most we could do is sap your stamina from you. That's why you're so tired."

"That makes sense," Emily realized. "When we were fighting Yuki, we got exhausted really fast. I thought it was because of us being a bit out of practice, but this explains it perfectly!"

"So, what are you going to do?" B. C. taunted. Jayden stood straight, his sword at the ready.

"Beat you," he said confidently. However, he was already worn-out. Antonio was probably just as if not more drained than him, and if what this guy said held any truth, he's been sucking their stamina throughout his long lecture. Mia and Emily might be better off, but they won't be enough to beat B. C. and his ability to cause misfortune.

He's going to have to make an all-or-nothing bet on this one attack. Whoa, déjà vu.

"Fire Smasher!" Grimacing behind his visor from the weight of his normally trusted weapon, he reached into his belt and pulled out a white disk. He set it into the oversized sword and a second version, exactly the same as the first, materialized in his other hand. "Dual Disk! Double Fire Smasher!"

With all of his remaining strength and Symbol Power, he rushed forward and slashed both his swords, creating a big, fiery 'X'.

B. C. yelled as he was flung back from the sheer force of the blow. He tumbled and rolled for a few meters before coming to a halt. He was unmoving for several moments.

Jayden panted and struggled to remain standing. Did he do it…?

B. C. began to shake and his laughter echoed throughout the park. He rose to his feet, almost entirely unscathed save for a few scorch marks on his clothes. He earnestly applauded, confusing Jayden and the others.

"It's been ages since I've had this much fun!" he gleefully exclaimed. Then his features turned serious. "Sadly, I have to end this now." He brought out the gun again and leveled it at Jayden. "These bullets were charged with my power. Even if you survive, and it's unlikely, you'll be cursed with misfortune for the rest of your days. It's been fun, Red Samurai."

He pulled the trigger, and everything seemed to slow down. Antonio cried out and desperately tried to move. Emily and Mia were scrambling towards him, but they were too far away. Jayden was paralyzed as he could only watch the projectiles making their way towards him. Is this how it would end?

"Growth!"

Out of nowhere, a symbol flew towards the ground in front of Jayden, causing a huge tree to sprout and block the bullets.

"What?" B. C. was just as clueless. "Who dares to interfere?"

"Just me," somebody relied. Jayden couldn't see who it was because he was on the other side of the tree, but it definitely sounded familiar. "A samurai that happened to be passing by." His eyes widened. Wasn't that…?

"**Shodō Phone**! **IPPITSU SOUJOU**!"

A green light flashed. Jayden saw that B. C. was stunned.

"No… you aren't supposed to be here… you are…!"

"**Shinken Green**!** Tani Chiaki**! **Tenkagomen no Samurai Sentai**! **Shinkenger, mairu**!"

* * *

"Ippitsu Soujou!" = "With these few brushstrokes we report to the emperor!"

"Tenkagomen no Samurai Sentai! Shinkenger, mairu!" = "The Samurai Sentai authorized by divine providence! Shinkenger, go forth!"

* * *

So, what did you think? Like the latest guest appearance? If you do, there's more in the coming chapters, but not just by the Shinkengers. Keep reading to find out who.

Thanks for reading my stories! Remember to leave your thoughts in the reviews. I can't improve if I don't know what you guys think or if I should change anything. Until the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7: The Shinkenmaru's Power

Hello people of fanfiction! Sorry it took me so long to get out this latest chapter. A combination of an overload of schoolwork and computer problems can really mess up someone's schedule, y'know. Well, if I had a schedule. Now that it's somewhat resolved, I'll make sure to release more chapters in a timely manner.

Disclaimer: Really? Do I even need to say anything? I already put the word "disclaimer", which in this case means, "I do not own the Power Rangers or the Shinkengers".

* * *

Chapter 7 – The Shinkenmaru's Power

"**Shodō Phone**! **IPPITSU SOUJOU**!"

"**Shinken Green**! **Tani Chiaki**!"

Jayden managed to drag himself to his feet and shakily stumble around the newly-sprouted tree to witness a green-clad man emerge from a flash of light. Behind him, he could hear his friends stagger toward him, though it seemed like they were unaware of the presence of the Shinkenger on the other side of the tree.

"Impossible," B. C. cried out. "This area isn't even under your jurisdiction!"

Chiaki made a 'tsk-tsk' noise while wagging his finger. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone when they're in the middle of talking? Besides, you guys chose to attack while I was supposed to be on vacation." He shook his head and shrugged. "Now where was I? Oh, that's right…

"**Tenkagomen no Samurai Sentai**! **Shinkenger, mairu**!"

Chiaki charged, his blade glinting in the sunlight. B. C. hastily snapped his fingers, but Chiaki tucked into a forward roll before leaping and driving his sword into the tree behind B. C.

Narrowly dodging, he lashed out with his claws again, but the Shinkenger was long gone. He cautiously swept his gaze from side to side, one hand on his gun and the other morphed into wickedly sharp claws. He was completely unprepared for what came next.

"WOOD SPEAR!"

A spear shaft descended from above, and B. C. couldn't dodge in time. He yelled and clutched at his bleeding shoulder, only to find himself face-to-spear-tip.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" snarled B. C.

"This is not my fight," Chiaki looked at Jayden. "It is a Ranger's battle. I refuse to fight it for them." He reverted his spear back into its sword from, which he promptly tossed to Jayden. Chiaki walked to the tree he grew, de-morphed, and sat down. "Hey Red, while the _Shinkenmaru_ might help, you're still outclassed. So I'll give you a hint: the key to unlocking you Rangers' true power lies in your Zords; something that us Shinkengers cannot access as easily."

With that, Chiaki put his arms behind his head and leaned against the bark. Jayden was confused. What was that about his Zord? He had no time to think as B. C. lunged at him, despite his injury.

Jayden leapt back and the ninja flew past him. He held the _Shinkenmaru_ in front of him, marveling at the strength and power he felt surging from it. Yet as right as it felt, somehow it also felt kind of _wrong_ at the same time. As if it was something that wasn't meant for him, or Rangers in general.

Jayden ducked as B. C. sailed overhead, before tucking into a forward roll to avoid getting shot. This wasn't good. He was still fatigued from earlier. He could only go so far on adrenaline alone. Unfortunately, his opponent, though ragged, seemed like he could go on for much longer.

His Zord, huh? Red Lion flew out and hovered in front of him. It stared at him resolutely, like it was trying to tell him something. Ah, he didn't have anything to lose anyways. Besides, he trusted his Zord.

"Zord Power! Merge!" Red Lion erupted into a miniature inferno before flying straight at Jayden. Fire burst from the ground and enveloped him in a cocoon of flame. Wild tongues of flame licked in every direction before the cocoon caved in on itself and expanded until it burst.

Amidst a small patch of fire, Jayden stood, but he was no longer holding the _Shinkenmaru_. Instead, he was wielding a sword with his Lion Zord embedded in the hilt, which resembled a pair of fangs ready to bite. The blade flared near the hilt before narrowing to form the point. There was a spot on the blade to place disks, as well as a lock to keep it in place.

"_Shinkenmaru_ _no _Red Ranger: Shishi no Kiba!"

A small twister of flames ignited from Red Lion and circled around the blade. Jayden looked at it in awe. Was this… the power of a _Shinkenmaru_?

"Nope!" Chiaki yelled from his spot underneath his tree. "That's a Ranger's true potential! The sword only acts like a key because you guys couldn't realize it!"

"The book said something about that,'_When sword and Zord combine, the Rangers' true might shall shine_,'" Jayden quoted. "I did not understand it before, but now it all makes sense…"

Chiaki whistled. "Yo Ranger! No time for standing around! You're in the middle of a battle in case you forgot!"

B. C., after being ignored for so long, decided to reassert his presence by shooting at Jayden's exposed flank. He barely managed to turn to see the bullets heading for him. There was no way he could possibly react in time!

_Clang!_

Jayden could only stare in shock at the sword raised in front of him, flames already melting the projectiles. His arm just moved on its own… no, his _sword_ moved on its own.

A small roar brought his attention to Red Lion resting in the hilt. It roared again, as if it were trying to say, "Trust me to watch your back. So focus on defeating your opponent."

Underneath his helmet, Jayden smirked. "Got it. Let's go, partner!"

More flames surged from his blade, and Jayden noticed a slight drop in his remaining stamina. Apparently, his new sword reacts according to his determination. The stronger his resolve, the greater the firepower. However, he would have to be careful to make sure it doesn't backfire on him and burn up all of his energy.

Although, even if he conserved his strength, his opponent would definitely outlast him. Might as well go out in a blaze of glory. 'Blaze of Glory', huh…

Jayden got into his normal stance, with the blade resting over his shoulder. Rather than burn him, the flames flowed around him until his entire arm gave off a fiery aura.

B. C. winced due to his own injury, but met his stare with one of his own. Despite the pain he was in, he's never had more fun before! And this kind of all-out battle was exactly why he was here in the first place.

There was no noise other than the other Rangers, having long since demorphed due to fatigue, shuffling around the tree to observe the clash between their fearless leader and the mysterious adversary. A single leaf floated right in between of the two combatants. As it fluttered its way down, everyone present mentally counted down, waiting for the moment it would hit the ground. Then it would begin…

Now!

Both sides rushed forward, B. C. lashing out with his claws and Jayden rolling with the attack to slash at his prone form. The ninja leapt to the side, which ended up saving him as a jet of fire followed the attack, searing the ground and very air a good two, three meters away. Warily, the two circled around each other, refusing to take their eyes off the other. Jayden reinitiated combat by thrusting his sword and firing off a fireball. B. C. swatted it to the side, only to find that his claws were beginning to melt.

Angrily he threw them aside and withdrew a second gun, though of a higher caliber than the other, and promptly unloaded a barrage of ammunition. Jayden countered with his own salvo of flying sword slashes, trusting Red Lion to move accordingly as he concentrated on generating more flames. The fire and bullets met halfway, colliding and kicking up a fair amount of smoke.

Jayden sprinted through the smoke and charged. B. C. let off a few more shots, but Jayden learned something from his previous battle. He weaved in between the paths of the bullets, using every ounce of his reflexes to narrowly dodge without slowing down once. B. C. gave an angry grunt and hurled one of his guns at Jayden, who raised his sword and cut it clean in two.

Both sides showed a fair amount of exhaustion, but neither was willing to slow down. B. C. backflipped and threw a couple of kunai, but they were easily brushed aside. Jayden plunged his sword into the ground and a pillar of fire erupted from underneath B. C., who backflipped again to dodge. He unloaded the remaining contents of his other gun before throwing it down and pulling out some shuriken.

Jayden swept his blade up, straight out of the ground, and caused a wall of flames to burst from the ground. By the time the fire died, he was nowhere to be seen. B. C. warily scanned the entire field, even checking up this time, but not a trace of the Red Ranger was to be seen.

Suddenly, in his peripheral vision, he saw a streak of red fly past and B. C. threw his shuriken. The hit their mark, shattering the visor, and pinning the helmet to a nearby tree. Just the helmet. The rest of his adversary was yet to be seen.

"Blazing Lion Fang!" Jayden shouted, leaping from behind B. C. and brought down his sword, which was engulfed in flames bigger than him. Right before impact, the fire took the shape of a lion and gave off a mighty roar that echoed throughout the city.

A large column of fire shot off into the sky before dissipating to reveal two figures kneeling in a charred circle that was roughly four meters in diameter. Jayden, helmetless, was teetering on the brink of consciousness. B. C., though considerably worse for wear, coughed and climbed to his feet.

"Much better. Now if only you were like that for the entire fight," he spat out. "No matter. My energy is nearly used up. Next time, you won't be around to help these pathetic excuses of Rangers on account of the 'other' front moving." He faced Jayden. "Weak as you may be, you managed to keep me entertained for this long so I'll tell ya something good.

"Akuma is awakening. Our two major factions, _Kuro _and _Shiro_, are mobilizing to attack the two fronts which prevent us from completely storming into your world and seizing control. The Shinkengers might be able to put up a fight, but these puny Rangers shall fall beneath our might. And so long as one side falls, the other will follow shortly. So if you want to at least have a fighting chance, I'd advise you to get stronger. When I return, I will have gotten much more powerful.

"Until then!" He threw a small sphere which released a massive smokescreen. A shadow darted out before disappearing.

"Jayden!" The other Rangers dashed frantically towards their leader. Antonio helped him rise to his feet, but found that he could easily stand by himself. After making sure that his friend would not fall, Antonio took a step back and began looking at that burned, blackened area around him.

"Jayden, that last attack was _muy fantastico_! Where or when did you get that kind of power?" Antonio asked. Emily and Mia nodded, the same question reflected in their eyes.

Jayden looked at his new sword, but unsurprisingly found that it had disappeared. _Well, it was only a rental_, he mused. To his friends, he simply said, "That was the power of a _Shinkenmaru_ combined with our Ranger powers," much to their amazement.

Applause reminded the others of the mysterious stranger that had been observing the battle. Jayden was fairly certain that they hadn't seen his Shinkenger transformation, if their confused expressions were anything to go by, and he felt immense relief flood over him.

Considering that this was kept top-secret since the days of the Mighty Morphing, he figured that there was a reason that the Rangers and the Sentai were kept separate. He was one of the few on the Ranger side who was even aware of the Sentai, and that was all purely due to his whole family situation. The Shinkengers only knew about them due to a certain incident involving the reemergence of a particular enemy shortly before he and his team had met.

Chiaki slowly approached them and whistled at the damage Jayden had caused. "Not bad Jayden. That was impressive."

Emily stared at him warily. "Jayden, who is this guy? And why does he know you?"

"He's… a family friend." Technically, it wasn't a lie, but he still felt kind of bad for keeping _another_ secret of this magnitude from his friends, but he would not be the one who spilled everything. Not yet, anyway.

"Shinken–err, Tani Chiaki," he immediately stopped himself after seeing Jayden send him a look. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to your fearless leader for a minute." He slung his arm around Jayden, who winced and glared at him, and hauled him a fair distance away.

"Chiaki, what are you doing here?" Jayden asked once they were out of earshot. Fortunately his friends respected him enough not to eavesdrop. At least, that's what he hoped. "And try not to mention your, ah, profession."

"Straight to the point as ever, eh Jayden? Glad to see you're still the same after two years. You and Takeru really need to lighten up." Chiaki replied nonchalantly.

"Chiaki…"

"Fine, fine. No need to get your spandex in a bunch." Jayden took note that he was still in his Ranger suit and promptly demorphed. "I was just on vacation when all of this happened. I saw you needed a hand, so I figured I'd intervene. It's all just a coincidence, I swear."

"Seems too convenient. What exactly influenced you to take a vacation here of all places?"

"That's easy. It was… huh?" Chiaki tried to remember, but found literally nothing. It was like that part his memory had been wiped. "I… can't remember."

Jayden shivered and looked around. There was nobody aside from him, his friends, and Chiaki. So why did he suddenly feel so anxious? A slight gust blew through the park, carrying a few black feathers that made both Jayden and Emily unconsciously tense. Chiaki was still preoccupied with trying to recall the reason why he was there, so he didn't notice.

"Chiaki," Jayden said, getting the current Shinken Green's attention. "Let's go back to the Shiba house. We'll talk there."

"Alright." Chiaki replied, still distracted by his missing memory. Jayden motioned to his friends that they were going home.

"… and on the way you can tell me all about Takeru and how awkwardly he's trying to adjust to a normal life even after half a decade."

THAT got Chiaki's full attention. He grinned and began chattering about his former lord's current misadventures. "Alright! Well, get this: Kusakabe jii-san pressured Takeru to go out and date since he's already at that age. So what does Takeru do? He goes all the way to Kyoto and announces to Kotoha's – you remember Kotoha, right? Kind of clumsy, but the one of the kindest people you'll ever meet and has a fondness for yellow – parents that he would very much like to date their daughter, and I'm not talking about Mitsuba, _right in front of her and her sister_!" Chiaki paused to laugh for a bit. He actually doubled over while walking. After his laughter died down, he straightened up and wiped away some tears.

"Poor thing nearly fainted! She didn't refuse though. All of us suspected that she had some sort of feeling towards the young lord after the whole butler episode. And Takeru was always particular towards her. Still, none of us would've ever thought that Takeru would _propose_ after about a week! This time Kotoha really did faint!" Chiaki burst into another uproarious fit of laughter.

Jayden smirked, hearing what his cousin was up to always brighten his day. Jii and Kusakabe-san always tell them that they're not that different from the other. Though Jayden would beg to differ (Takeru was too 'uptight', as Chiaki would say. Not at all a free spirit like him. Unbeknownst to Jayden, Takeru thought the same exact thing), he always got along with his cousin every time they met, even if they truly weren't related by blood. Kindred spirits, that's what they were. He didn't care about who Takeru was, he cared about who _Takeru_ was.

Still, even after hearing his cousin's (very) amusing foray into the field of romance, he still could not shake that feeling of anxiety…

* * *

B. C. panted as he leapt from tree to tree, desperately trying to shake his pursuer. Of all people, it just had to be him!

Something thudded into the branch he landed on, causing it to snap and send the ninja flailing to the ground. He landed with a sickening crunch, and he knew that something had broken, but his fear completely overruled any pain he felt. More things embedded themselves in the ground near him, each one closer than the last. One grazed the side of his face and B. C. whimpered.

"Please! Give me another chance! I will not fail you again!" he pleaded. There was an unbearable silence for several seconds before a new voice spoke up.

"Yes, you most certainly will not." It was sinister, malicious, and cold all rolled into one. B. C., despite being used to it, still shivered. "You belong to my organization. Your orders were to gauge their strength and eliminate them if they did not meet the requirements."

"But, but a Shinkenger interfered! What was I supposed to do?"

"Your job. This conversation is over." B. C. sighed in relief. "And so is your time." B. C. could barely let out a horrified yell as a massive force collided with his broken body, resulting in a tremendous explosion that did not leave a single trace behind. All that remained were a large crater and a scant few ebony feathers which were eventually carried away by the wind.

* * *

Over at the docks, Crow felt a disturbance. It had to be _him_. Nobody else could cause his senses to go haywire. He growled, which was uncharacteristic with his laid-back nature. If _he_ was moving, then Crow hoped that those Rangers would be able to put up a decent fight.

Even if they had absolutely no chance of winning.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Remember to leave a review!**


	8. Author's Note

Hey everybody, this is Storm Hawk 21 with an update notice, author's note, whatever this thing is called. Sorry if you were expecting another chapter, espescially if I haven't updated recently, but I won't be able to post new chapters for a while. Long story short, I didn't do a good job balancing school and my extracurriculars (is that the right spelling? Whatever), which also include writing these stories, so I really need to focus on my studies for now or else I might have to repeat the year, which I really, really do not want to do. I promise I'll update as soon as my grades are more... stable. Or when summer comes and I'm not sweating in summer school. Depends on how the next couple of months go. Again, I humbly/sincerely apologize.


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